The girl's mouth fell open, her face full of disbelief.
"Okay...?"
"R-really?"
"You really... are taking me to the amusement park?"
"R-really?"
The girl couldn't help asking again and again.
Perhaps what she'd been through had frightened her too badly.
Even now, she still hadn't fully recovered.
She'd become willful.
She felt she'd suffered so much, and wanted compensation.
And the compensation she thought of...
Was the amusement park.
The amusement park she'd always wanted to visit again.
In her memory, it had been a long time since she'd last gone to the amusement park.
So long that she'd almost forgotten what it looked like.
Just a moment ago, a hazy scene had surfaced in her mind.
She knew.
It was the amusement park.
Once she realized that, her longing to go surged like a crashing wave.
Her breathing quickened slightly.
She even felt an urgent, restless yearning deep inside.
In that state, she'd blurted out what she wanted.
She rarely asked for anything.
For one thing, her parents always prepared whatever she wanted for her.
She didn't need to make any additional requests.
For another, if her parents hadn't said anything, she'd feel too embarrassed to speak up.
She always felt that even if she asked, her parents might not agree.
It was as if she were putting them in a difficult position.
She didn't like seeing her parents look as though they wanted to say something but held back.
She loved it most when they patted her head and praised her for being good, clever, and obedient...
Praising her for being a daughter worthy of them.
Th-they agreed...
A smile slowly spread across the girl's face.
It grew wider and wider.
The girl nervously fidgeted with her hands.
"Th-thank you."
The girl took